Alberta Election Poll Shows Wildrose Party Ahead

A poll conducted for the CBC shows the Wildrose Party has a seven-point lead over the Progressive Conservatives just a week before the Alberta election, but it's edging towards majority territory.

The Return on Insight telephone poll found Wildrose has a commanding lead in rural areas, the most support of any party in Edmonton, and is running neck-and-neck with the PCs in Calgary.

ROI president Bruce Cameron said the race is tightening now that Liberal supporters appear to have moved to support the PCs in Calgary.

"It seems Albertans are increasingly lining up on one of two sides in this election: the Wildrose Party or the PC party,” he said.

With the election on April 23, the poll shows among decided voters that:

- The Wildrose Party leads with 43 per cent followed by the PCs at 36 per cent.

- The Liberals at 11 per cent.

- NDP at nine per cent.

- Alberta Party at one per cent.

Cameron said a Wildrose majority government is possible, given its level of support. The real battleground, the poll suggests, will likely be in the province's two big cities.

In Calgary, the Tories have a slim four-point lead over Wildrose at 45 per cent support to 41 per cent. In Edmonton, it's the Wildrose Party with a slight lead of 37 per cent to 31 per cent.

Wildrose has strong lead in rural Alberta

The Wildrose Party has a commanding 21-point lead over the PCs outside of the two major cities, at 52 per cent to 31 per cent.

But the poll found 24 per cent of Albertans are undecided about who to vote for, which reflects a higher than normal level of voter uncertainty this close to an election.

“Strategic voting, in which Liberal and ND supporters abandon their traditional loyalties to vote PC to stop the Wildrose, may have already begun in Calgary, making it a virtual tie," he said.

"But in Edmonton, Liberal and New Democrat support has held firm thus far, preventing a PC comeback and enabling the Wildrose to take the lead in the capital.

"These types of unprecedented shifts are very difficult to predict and even more difficult to control, so we are likely to see a hotly contested finish to the 2012 Alberta election.”

Results of the poll are based on a random poll of 800 Albertans. It was conducted April 13 and 14, and is accurate to within plus or minus 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Highlights Of The Alberta Election

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Here's a look back at some of the most memorable moments from the campaign.

A blog post saying that gays were destined to burn in a "lake of fire" for eternity was brought to light on April 16.
Allan Hunsperger, a pastor who's running as a Wildrose candidate in Edmonton South, also referenced Lady Gaga's 'Born This Way':
"You see, you can live the way you were born, and if you die the way you were born then you will suffer the rest of eternity in the lake of fire, hell, a place of eternal suffering."
Wildrose leader Danielle Smith said she was aware of Hunsperger's religious views.

Wildrose leader Danielle Smith found herself on the receiving end of booing and mockery at a debate on April 19 for questioning climate change .
"There is still a debate in the scientific community," said Smith before being drowned out by a chorus of boos and catcalls.
PC leader Alison Redford said Smith leading the province would be an embarrassment.

Wildrose candidate Ron Leech made some controversial remarks about race on a South Asian radio show.
"I think as a Caucasian I have an advantage. When different community leaders such as a Sikh leader or a Muslim leader speaks, they really speak to their own people in many ways. As a Caucasian, I believe that I can speak to all the community," said Leech.
He apologized for his remarks on April 24, saying that his comments did not come out the way he intended.

During the April 12 debate, the candidates for the Wildrose, Liberal and NDP took the opportunity to gang up on Progressive Conservative leader Alison Redford. It was an unsurprising tactic given that the Tories have held power in Alberta for 11 consecutive majority governments, although polls reveal the Wildrose may have a fighting chance.

When the Wildrose first rolled out their campaign bus, there was something distinctly odd about the wheel placement in relation to Smith's image.
Late night host Jay Leno even poked fun at the busty bus before a new, less suggestive design rolled out.

An April 10 poll showed that Danielle Smith's Wildrose party was neck and neck with the Progressive Conservatives. The Leger Marketing poll showed the Wildrose has the support of 36 per cent of Albertans, compared to 34 per cent for the governing Tories.

This Hour Has 22 Minutes gave their own take on the Alberta election by poking fun at the similarities between Alison Redford and Danielle Smith.
CLICK TO WATCH

Progressive Conservative staffer Amanda Wilkie "resigned" on March 31 after tweeting "If @ElectDanielle likes young and growing families so much, why doesn't she have children of her own? #wrp family pack = insincere."
Backlash came swiftly from the PC, the Wildrose and Twitter users alike. Alison Redford herself issues an apology, but not before Smith revealed that she didn't have children due to fertility issues.

In a moment of levity, but mostly embarrassment for Danielle Smith, the Wildrose leader's dogs got frisky during a photo op in Calgary.

In a province where conservative values dominate politics, Brian Mason's NDP and Raj Sherman's Liberals are left to duke it out in left-leaning pockets such as Edmonton.

On April 10, for the second time, Wildrose leader Danielle Smith was called out for her supposed opposing stance on abortion and gay marriage.
Smith however snuffed out the controversy: "When our members elected me they knew they were electing a candidate that was pro-choice and pro-gay marriage."
The issues came up earlier in the election when Smith was less forthcoming on the subjects.

Alberta's education minister Thomas Lukaszuk claimed he was assaulted while canvassing in an Edmonton neighbourhood.
He said he knocked on the door of a residence with a Wildrose support sign and, once recognized, was punched by the resident within. The resident, Al Michalchuk, says he merely nudged Lukaszuk when he refused to leave.